Conversational prayer

Matthew 6:7-13 (NLT)
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

In these verses Jesus was teaching those listening how to pray. He started by saying not to repeat chants over and over like some might do. Instead Jesus offered the listeners a direct prayer. There was no repetition. The prayer was spoken directly to God. Jesus praised God. He asked for God’s grace to be upon us. Jesus asked that our needs might be met; our sins forgiven; and protection from spiritual battles.

Our prayers are our conversations with God. Some of us learned as children to repeat prayers and that is appropriate when young and learning about God. Most of us should have matured such that we have a relationship with God where we are able to talk to God about our lives, our issues, our love for Him, and anything else that we desire. In Psalms King David would often express his anger, his fear, his hopelessness and other emotions he was feeling. David would also give thanks to God and praise Him for the work in His life. Often I will hear a Muslim speak and they say “thanks be to God” when something is good in their lives. As Christians we too should include God in our conversations and give thanks for what He has done for us. My pastor Johnny Hunt once said he was out at dinner with his wife and he thought how lovely she looked. So he stopped and said, “God I just want to thank you for Miss Janet. She looks lovely tonight, doesn’t she?” God wants our spontaneous thoughts and He wants us to express how we feel, what we need, and how He can help. Take time through your day to stop and pray for yourself, for your family and for others and see how God will bless you.